Spice Up Your Rice – Sticky Coconut & Coriander

coconut rice

The second part of my Spice Up Your Rice mini-series, this has become a firm favourite in boosting my clean bulk. Super easy (as ever) but with a richer, creamier taste than standard Basmati and a perfect compliment to Asian style dishes. Cooking the rice in coconut milk does increase the fat content of this rice, but it’s all monounsaturated, meaning your body utilises it for energy quickly, instead of storing it.

Ingredients:

  • Basmati rice (75g per person)
  • 1 can Coconut milk
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the rice grains and coat evenly in the oil. If you’re doing a large portion, you might want to add a bit more oil, so all the rice is coated.

Tip the contents of the coconut milk into a bowl and mix to a smooth consistency. Measure out the same volume as the rice, eg. 75g rice = 75ml coconut milk. Add to the pan, along with the same amount of water. Bring to a strong simmer, whilst stirring; then cover and turn the heat right down to it’s lowest setting. Cook the rice like this forĀ  10-15 mins, stirring regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. The rice should be slightly sticky and not watery in texture when it’s done – you shouldn’t need to drain it.

Top with fresh chopped coriander and serve.

Let me know if you want a particular rice recipe via twitter or the comment box below!

 

5-A-Day Tabouleh

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Tabouleh has to be THE best salad in the world. It’s insanely healthy, crazy tasty AND it fills you up for hours, which is more than can be said for most dishes consisting solely of raw veg & herbs. Even the dressing does you good! A squeeze of fresh lemon juice keeps the crunch and vitality of the ingredients and a good quality, extra-virgin olive oil can help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Tabouleh is really simple to make, just chop everything up really small & don’t overdo the bulgar wheat. It’s a herb –not a couscous salad – the wheat just gives texture and interest. A great dish to take along to a garden party or barbeque and super cheap to make, this is really a recipe everyone should have on their roster.

For the Tabouleh:

+1 red onion

+3-4 tomatoes

+1/2 cucumber

+large bunch of fresh mint

+large bunch fresh corriander

+50g bulgar wheat/couscous

 

For the dressing:

+2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

+4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

+sea/rock salt flakes

+freshly ground black pepper

Chop everything up finely. Squeeze the tomatoes in your hand, over a bowl. Too much moisture will ruin the tabouleh, so don’t skip this process. Add the tomatoes and cucumber just before serving (up to an hour before should be fine).

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